Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

What a waste of my time!!!

Sadly Over-hyped

Excellent but underrated film

A Disappointing Continuation

Uncle Cyrus, a wealthy, enigmatic ghost hunter--and soul enslaver!--is killed while on a dangerous mission in a wrecking yard to capture the spirit of a killer known as the Juggernaut. His elaborate, mechanized estate, glass-encased and "powered by the dead," is then turned over to his nephew, a widower math teacher with a grown daughter, a young son and his sassy nanny, who could use the new digs after being rendered nearly destitute by a fire which killed the Mrs. Very loose remake of William Castle's 1960 horror-comic was directed by Steve Beck in his debut. Beck, who had previously worked as a visual effects art director, ensures a good-looking movie with amazing, goosebumpy atmospherics and assorted grotesqueries, but he hasn't yet developed a talent for handling actors. The obnoxious kid is one thing, but Matthew Lillard's over-the-top performance as Cyrus' psychic assistant--who unfortunately survives the prologue--and J. R. Bourne's shifty-eyed turn as Cyrus' lawyer are wincingly amateurish, unworthy of a major studio production. Maybe these actors thought they were in a campy movie on the level of Castle's original? In the lead role, Tony Shalhoub does a nice job, and F. Murray Abraham gets a chance to be deviously sinister as Cyrus, but nothing else here rises to the level of the film's polished look. *1/2 from ****

This film is the remake of a film with the same name directed in 1960 by William Castle. The plot is similar: Arthur Kriticos is a modest man embittered by the death of his wife when he receives the news of a great inheritance left to him by a uncle, Cyrus, who was very rich. In the inheritance is included a huge and very modern house that Arthur doesn't know to be haunted by a collection of evil spirits that his uncle hunted and imprisoned. The film has a truly frightening opening sequence that shows us how this man hunted and trapped the most cruel spirits. But then the film calms down, takes on a more cadenced rhythm and builds the ending, on a plot simpler and more psychological than one might expect. Suspense isn't effective as it should, some script solutions are forced and unnatural, even resorting to obvious clichés. There are several scenes of graphic violence somewhat shocking but this is not scary, it's disgusting. In contrast, the film is visually pleasing, with proper cinematography, good special effects and sound and an extraordinary setting. The house is something like I've never seen, combining tradition and modernity with a sinister touch, and the subplot around it was a plus point for the film. Tony Shalhoub (who still remembers this actor in Monk?) did a good job as lead actor and F. Murray Abraham also pleased me. I didn't like Matthew Lillard, overly theatrical and exaggerated to the point of being humorous when he shouldn't. The rest of the cast was OK and did their job without surprising, disillusioning or highlighting.

I went to see the THIR13EN GHOSTS remake expecting little. What I got was a paper-thin story, taking segments from GHOSTBUSTERS(!) and the HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL remake, plenty of clichéd situations and characters, some nifty special effects work, and a ton of jumps and scares. Added into the mixture was a smattering of gore and I actually found myself enjoying the whole thing. Sure, I'll have totally forgotten about this popcorn entertainment in a couple of days time but I can't deny that I had a good time watching it, despite the many flaws. One surprise is that I found it actually scary in a number of places especially where the ghosts are concerned. Some truly horrific special effects work from the reliable KNB group combined with a jolting soundtrack made this a horror film in the true sense of the word and one not for the squeamish.The biggest problem is first-time director Steve Beck, one of the new wave of film-makers who can't resist including plenty of MTV style into their movies. Thus we have lots of tricksy jump-cuts, slow motion, cameras sped up and all kinds of wannabe stylish bits in place of any real atmosphere - and no, Steve, panning your camera around a few empty corridors doesn't count as atmosphere building. The script is unbelievable but then so is the whole idea of the film, that a machine houses twelve ghosts who can open the "Eye of Hell". It's one of those movies where you have to turn off your brain to enjoy. Sure there are a couple of 'surprising' character twists here and there but by and large the film is an action-orientated horror romp which showcases scared people being chased and killed by a wide variety of evil spirits.Tony Shalhoub is the straight man in the film, the middle-aged male hero, a solid character who can't believe in what he sees. He's supported by Embeth Davidtz as some kind of idiotic 'ghost rights' campaigner and the effortlessly charismatic F. Murray Abraham as the cultured bad guy of the piece, another mad scientist type (Abraham fills the role of suave baddie perfectly). Former singer Rah Digga is unwelcome as the comedy relief housemaid (whose self-pitying presence recalls the 'spooked' black manservants of the horror-comedies of the 1940's) whilst Shannon Elizabeth is around to look pretty and not do a lot else. Finally, there's Matthew Lillard, giving us yet another shouty, psychotic, on-the-edge type performance which he has been doing all of his career. Now, where the rest of the cast fail to make likable characters, Lillard actually succeeds which is surprising seeing as I usually end up hating him in films. Sure he's overly neurotic and overacts his hat off but he supplies the film with limitless energy and I'm always a fan of old-fashioned ham, so good on you, mate.Obviously a roller-coaster ride through a spook house shocker such as this relies heavily on the effectiveness of the, well, effects and this is where THIR13EN GHOSTS succeeds admirably. From the not-bad CGI work used to animate the various parts of the house to the ghosts themselves, the effects are often deliciously good. The ghosts are all suitably grotesque and dead-looking, and thankfully are under-exposed so that they don't end up looking rubbery and fake. Seeing them briefly in quick snatches of vision makes their appearances a heck of a lot more frightening than prolonged exposure. However, the imaginative gore and death scenes are where the film really hits home and it's nice to see a movie which doesn't skimp on the good, old-fashioned grue. Bodies are broken in two, graphically squashed, torn, slashed, shredded to pieces. However the gruesome highlight is undoubtedly the effect where a man is sliced in half by a pane of glass (WISHMASTER tried a similarly elaborate type of effect but failed). Very nasty stuff indeed which comes as quite a shock.THIR13EN GHOSTS is a loud, vulgar, immature shocker which tops off the activity with an over-the-top finale involving lots of things breaking, exploding, the bad guys getting their comeuppances and the good guys getting saved by the skin of their teeth. In a word, clichéd, but somehow satisfying, like watching an old friend up on screen. Finally this is a blockbuster where the budget and effects count for everything and make the viewing experience worthwhile; so if you're looking for a shallow gore-splattered horror flick then look no further than this. Give it a break, critics and reviewers alike!

This movie is very underrated. Because it a remake. I have seen the original more then once. It is a horror classic. There is on denying it. A family i.n.h.e.r.e.n.t.s a house when the fathers rich uncle dies. The house is haunt. The original is scary. This is scarier. This one of the scariest movies ever made. If you do not get scared of the this movie. Then why would the original 1960 version scary you? If you like really scary movie then you need to see both versions of Thirteen ghosts. This movie has a great story line. It also has great special effects. Tony S.h.a.l.h.o.u.b is a great actor. Shannon Elizabeth is a great actress. This movie is a must see.